India PM Modi accuses Pakistan of using 'terrorism, proxy war' for relevance

Modi marks 25 years since 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan in Himalayas.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that Pakistan is trying to stay relevant through "terrorism" and "proxy war" but its "unholy plans" will never succeed.

The nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours share an uneasy relationship and India has, for decades, accused Pakistan of backing Islamist militants fighting its rule in Kashmir, the Himalayan region both claim in full but rule only in part.

Pakistan denies the accusations, saying it only provides diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination in the Muslim-majority region.

Modi's comments came at an event to mark the 25th anniversary of India's short military conflict with Pakistan in the Himalayan region of Kargil. The arch rivals have also fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir.

They also come in the aftermath of a spate of militant attacks in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) region, with almost a dozen Indian soldiers killed this year.

Modi said Pakistan was humiliated whenever it tried to further its plans but had "not learned anything from its history".

"I want to tell these patrons of terrorism that their unholy plans will never be successful...Our brave (forces) will squash terrorism, the enemy will be given a befitting reply," he said.

Pakistan's foreign ministry did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

India-Pakistan relations have been largely frozen as the two countries downgraded their diplomatic ties in tit-for-tat moves in August 2019 after New Delhi scrapped Kashmir's special status and split it into two federally administered territories.

Ties were further strained after a suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Kashmir was traced to Pakistan-based militants, prompting India to carry out an airstrike on what it said was a militant base in Pakistan.

Earlier this year, Pakistan said there was credible evidence linking Indian agents to the killing of people on its soil - accusations that India termed "fake".

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last month that India would look for a solution to cross-border terrorism, which "cannot be the policy of a good neighbour".